Her pulse was racing, his body was betraying him.It was all there—from the wild glitter in his eyes, to the need coiling deep in her belly.She lowered her forehead until it was touching the space just above his heart.In spite of the heat between them she started to shake.
Ryder groaned.They’d gone too fast.But, dear Lord, who could have known they would go up in flames?They’d blindsided each other with nothing more than a kiss.He was almost afraid to guess at what might happen if they ever made love.
“Easy, Casey.Easy, honey,” he said softly, rubbing his hands up and down her back in a slow, soothing motion.“That just got out of hand.I didn’t mean to scare you, okay?”
She rolled off him and got as far as the side of the bed before covering her face with her hands.“Oh, my God.Oh, my God.”
Ryder silently cursed himself for starting something they hadn’t been ready to finish.But he’d gotten his answer.Delaney Ruban’s granddaughter might not love him, but she wasn’t immune to him either.There was something there.He just wasn’t sure what it was.He rolled over on his side and reached out, touching her back with the palm of his hand.
“Casey, look at me.”
When she flinched, he got up with a curse and walked out of the room.
She couldn’t think, couldn’t move, couldn’t speak.All she could do was remember his weight pressing her down and never wanting the connection to stop.Of feeling his mouth cover hers, of mingling breaths and racing hearts and resenting the clothing that separated her skin from his.
The phone rang, and the timing couldn’t have been worse.Moments later, Ryder walked back in the room and tossed the portable phone near her leg.
“It’s for you.”
Casey looked up, but he was already gone.She picked up the phone with shaking hands and cleared her throat.
“Hello?”
“Mrs.Justice, this is Charles Byner, down at the bank.I just need your authorization to clear a check.It’s quite a large sum above what’s in the account and I need your approval to authorize the draw.”
Casey swept a hand through her hair, trying to come to terms with reality.“I’m sorry,” she said, trying to focus.“What did you say?”
“No problem,” he said.“I’m really sorry to bother you at home, but Mr.Ruban had specific orders with regards to these particular accounts and since you’re now the one in charge, I need authorization from you to clear the check, although it is more than a thousand dollars over the balance.”
Casey sat up straight, her mind immediately jumping gears as she realized what he meant.
“Which account?Miles’s or Erica’s?”
The clerk lowered his voice.“It’s the one in Mr.Dunn’s name.The check is for twenty-six hundred dollars.That’s about eleven hundred dollars above the balance.”
Casey stood.“What is the balance, exactly?”
His voice lowered even more.“Let me just pull that up on the screen.Yes… here it is.The balance as of today is exactly $1,400.17.”
Casey gritted her teeth.“And was the usual amount of five thousand dollars deposited into that account at the first of this month?”
“Ummm, yes, ma’am, it was.”
By now, Casey was livid.Delaney had set a precedent years ago that was about to come to a screeching halt.“Honor the check, Mr.Byner.I’ll have enough money transferred into the account to cover it, but I’ll be at the bank first thing Monday morning to make some new arrangements.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the clerk said, and hung up.
Casey disconnected, then immediately rang the bank back through another department and dealt with the transfer in a no-nonsense voice.When she was finished; she headed for the house phone on the kitchen wall.
“Tilly, is Miles at home?”
“He’s in the pool,” Tilly answered.
“Would you please ask him to meet me in the library?There’s something we need to discuss.”
She hung up to find Ryder watching her.
“You okay?”
